Motorola introduced the MC55A0, a rugged mobile computer for vertical markets such as health care and government. It supports data and voice over WiFi, plus PTT.
Motorola Solutions is introducing the MC55A0, a WiFi-enabled enterprise
handheld that the company is calling the industry's most rugged. Designed for
customer-facing applications, outfitted with government-grade security features
and able to withstand 1,000 tumbles in a rotating tumble drum, the device
strives to marry field toughness with office efficiency.
Motorola developed the device for vertical markets such as health care,
manufacturing, hospitality, retail and government, and its feature list speaks
to this. The 3.5-inch color VGA display reportedly can be viewed in any
lighting conditions and paired with a number of keypads, including QWERTY or
numeric options. It can be cleaned with any household cleaner (a perk for
health care workers), supports voice and data over a WLAN, offers four scanner
options-for 1D and 2D bar codes, medium and high density bar codes and very
high density bar codes-and can come with a 3.2-megapixel color camera with
video capabilities.
Also supported are Web browsing, e-mail and the option of push-to-talk voice
calls with Motorola mobile computers, TEAM voice
over virtual LAN (VOVLAN) smartphones and
Motorola two-way radios. The MC55AO, announced Dec. 7, runs Microsoft Windows
Mobile 6.5 Classic and an 806MHz Marvell PXA320 processor. There's 256MB of
RAM, 1GB of Flash memory and a microSD card
slot for 32GB of additional memory. Bluetooth 2.1 is also on board, along with
Motorola's MAX MPA 2.0 device architecture
and a MAX Sensor that automatically rotates
the screen to portrait or landscape mode, depending on how the device is being
held. And when the device isn't in use, the Sensor puts it to sleep, to
conserve the battery.
The MC55A0 supports virtual private networks (VPNs) and, for government
deployments, can add FIPS 140-2 Level 1 certification. And-because who doesn't
like an option?-it will be available in white or blue.
"Delivering new levels of business efficiency and enhanced customer
service, the WiFi-enabled MC55A0 series also eliminates the common challenges
associated with in-building cellular coverage for real-time access to
business-critical information, while leveraging the field-proven rugged form
factor and accessories of the MC55," Girish Rishi, Motorola Solutions'
corporate vice president and general manager of mobile computing, said in a
Dec. 7 statement.
In addition to the above-mentioned tumbling, the handheld can survive
splashes, dust, temperature extremes and drops from 6 feet. It weighs 11 ounces
with its rechargeable battery and measures 5.78 by 3.03 by 1.06 inches.
On Jan. 4, 2011,
Motorola Solutions will become its own publicly traded company, splitting from
what will be called Motorola Mobility-the side of the business containing such
consumer-oriented products as the popular Motorola Droid and Droid 2
smartphones.
The split, which has been in the works for nearly a year, will enable each
part of the company to keep
"a laser focus" on its respective customers, Motorola Solutions'
Gene Delaney told eWEEK, insisting that the decision was made "for all the
right reasons."
The Associated Press has reported that Motorola also faced pressure from
investor Carl Icahn, who as of August owned more than 10 percent of the
company.
In addition to a number of radio-communications devices, Motorola Solutions
will offer all of the systems to support those products.
Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.
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